More than 280 scientific and technical institutions support the safety of GM crops

Last Update: June 19, 2017.

Currently there is a social and political controversy about the safety of foods produced from genetically modified (GM) crops, however, in the scientific community there is no dispute or controversy regarding the safety of these technology. To date, more than 3000 scientific studies [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] have assessed the safety of these crops in terms of human health and environmental impact. These studies, together with several reviews performed on a case by case from regulatory agencies around the world, have enabled a solid and clear scientific consensus: GM crops have no more risk than those that have been developed by conventional breeding techniques.

In addition, there is also extensive literature that compiles the socioeconomic and environmental benefits that transgenic crops have reported in 2 decades of commercialization [9,10].

This document brings together the public statements of technical and scientific institutions that adhere to this consensus. I made an update based on this document from ChileBio that initially included 40 official documents representing about 190 institutions – the document from ChileBio was subsequently updated in 2017 with the institutions and statements attached here.

The update shows that 284 technical and scientific institutions recognize the safety of GM crops and their potential benefits. Interestingly a large part of these institutions are located in Europe, the continent that has put more obstacles to the commercialization of these crops. On the other hand, the countries with most organizations in favor of GM crops are United Kingdom (33), United States (25), Italy (23), Spain (16) and Germany (11).

* In this table the academies of Germany are 10, in the case of United Kingdom there are 33 institutions; 22 institutions from Italy, 14 from Spain, and 3 from France.

* The European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) currently has 29 members: one representative each from the 25 national science academies of EU member states, the Academia Europaea, ALLEA, and also representatives of the Norwegian and Swiss national academies of sciences.

* The American Dietetic Association (ADA) has become The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). While the above statement reflected the ADA’s position the president of AND has stated that AND is currently neutral and has no position on GMOs.

* The document from the International Council for Science (ICSU) was signed in 2003 by 101 science academies and 27 scientific unions. ICSU currently has 31 Scientific Union Members and 121 National Scientific Members.

** The statement from Nobel prizes is included by the importance of the document, but it is not counted as an institution.

Final number

After categorizing the different institutions from Africa (14), Asia (5), Europe (89), Latin America (9), North America (28), Oceania (7) and internationals (14), a total of 166 institutions was obtained. If we add the 101 academies and 27 scientific unions that signed the document of the International Council for Science (ICSU), we get a figure of 294 institutions.

Map with the countries where reside the members of ICSU. Source: http://www.icsu.org/

However, in the current 121 national scientific institutions that are members of ICSU, 13 already appear on the categorization by continents – the academies of sciences of Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, France, India, Kenya, Ghana, Vatican, Mexico, UK and United States, and these academies where members of ICSU before the document was signed in 2003. Therefore, if we subtract these 13 members, we get a figure of 281 institutions.

But we must note that the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is composed by 29 members, and 26 already appear on the categorization by continents or in the declaration of ICSU. So we must add the 3 remaining institutions (ALLEA, ‘Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts’, and the ‘Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences’) adding a final figure of 284.

In conclusion, 284 technical and scientific institutions recognize that GM crops are not riskier than those produced by conventional breeding, and/or the potential benefits of these crops.

12 comments

William

Donald E Tiers

This kind of reporting may be unsubstantiated. Please document the holding companies of the source material. You may find the truth is harder to post than fiction. When the information is gathered from papers written several years ago, it may have been skewed and paid for by certain companies. I remember when Doctors would advise letting children smoke cigarettes based on information paid for by tobacco companies.

Eric Bjerregaard

Donald E.Tiers, You disgusting piece of slime. Daniel goes through all the research to produce this and you, without any evidence, research or specific knowledge of even one error try to impugn his facts and integrity. Feel free to come visit my farm sometime. Bring medical supplies.

This is an excellently thorough piece of research work by the author. Anyone sensible challenge should be directed at what the quoted long litany of institutions state, not at the messenger!! The problem lies in the utter negation of the truth, facts and figures which are itchy like hot pepper in the eyes and sour mouths of anti-science cults. So they go on to attack the messengers in the typical mafia and Nazi-style well-documented by society. We in Africa — where such cultic fellows are in plenty even at universities – sprouting from their grandmother, the multinational campaigner (MNC) Greenpeace. This nasty militaristic/militia-styled MNC should be appropriately re-named “Green-war” abolished and its branches outlawed like India is doing. The “Greenwar” is a bioterrorist grouping that lays eggs and sows seeds of devil-kids like Donal E. Tiers who are cynics, skeptics, denialists, haters, techno-phobics (but purchase latest models of phones, computers and have fridges and freezers full of rotting food, some of it from GM-crops, yet keep displaying ugly GMO-freakness! What a world it would have been without such freaks. “Green-war” has misled society with lies manufactured by European and North America chemical multinational companies whose products are being threatened by GM technology e.g Bt (naturally-built defence mechanism for cotton and maize) that enable farmers grow the two normally large-scale plantation crops with reduced pesticide spraying. This reduced pesticide spraying is a huge loss to multi-billion chemical companies, which now sponsor the MNC Greenpeace to decampaign GM-technologies including where billion-population countries like India are vigorously adopting them. In USA, Canada, Brazil and China — lately Sudan and Cuba, large scale Bt-cotton and Bt-maize growing countries would be buying large amounts of pesticides in millions of tonnes with which to spray against stem-borers (in maize) and bollworms (in cotton). But thanks to molecular scientists, the Br-technology is saving the world of pesticides. Not surprisingly, because the anti-GM freaks are challenged by farmers’ rapid adoption of such GM-technologies as Bts, have turned around the great Indian Bt-Cotton story of harvesting larger amounts of cotton into a negative. They blatantly claim that because of Bt cotton, Indian farmers commit suicides!! U ask them what the connection, they craft it around crop losses and increased use of pesticides — look around for lie of Vendana Shiva (a diehard anti-GMO shiverer)!! What has been solved is what these evil-minded fellows turn into a problem for Indian Bt-cotton!
Yet India’s poor, bad, unfair class system has deprived the largely subsistence farmers landless, hence to grow any crop including Bt and non-Bt cotton, for any losses occasioned by any factors including drought, flooding, bad seed, or utter failure to repay agricultural or any other loans borrowed for rent-land, leads to committing suicide. Some Indian farmers mortgage their internal body organs as security for renting land, and should their crop fail for any reason, the landlords demand for the body organ, to be sold. Why isn’t it Shiva and her likes’ campaign to deal with the actual/real causes of landliness since it is the problem. And instead they have coined lies and jumped onto what is easy prey — technology Bt Cotton!! Is Bt-cotton being grown by the Japanese, Americans and those with the world’s highest suicide rates? Is it Bt-cotton responsible for the high suicides rates in Russia, Europe, Australia, in Africa and the rest of Asia? The “Greenwar” has photo-shopped pictures of grotesque creatures depicted as products of genetic engineering, and in a more gullible world like Africa, farmers are suffering from vagaries of nature (devastating pests, diseases, drought) but fear adopting resistant GM seeds due to the evil handwork of Greenpeace and her evil kids. The world should wake up to destruction of GP.

John Ellis MD, MPH

The anti-science crowd uses associations to substitute for proof. They apparently do not know much of the scientific method and run to legislatures instead of being educated. They say less is more and more is less and have no qualm about using radiation or mutagenic chemicals for development of new seed varieties and happily plant such seeds at their organic farms.

If I am writing a book about the far off future and need a year with a solar eclipse, I can either poll out my Ouji board or ask the scientists. Carl Sagen warned us in his last book, Demon-Haunted world of this dumbing down of America and it is here in full force. These are the climate change and vaccine deniers who think a small group of poorly trained people know more than 90% of the scientists. They claim the recent report of U.S. National Academy of Sciences on GMO foods should be taken “just for what it is-a political statement” to support U.S. biotech companies. For me, I’ll go with the scientists. Some of the most promising new drugs are genetically engineered, and they want us to dump those, too. Billions of meals and billions of farm animals fed GMO products and not one documented case of illness. All this they want to ignore and go back to the Middle Ages..

Eric Bjerregaard

Daniel, I am trying to find a few links to statements from some of these organizations. For now specifically the BMA and the Royal society from Canada. Can you assist. What appear to be links on the right of your list don’t work.

Jim Williams

Everyone gets on the internet, reads a few articles and related information from non-scientists. Then, they autonomously appoint themselves as experts. And all this on a full stomach, I might add, that is almost 100% due to the efforts of all the good science work that has been accomplished.

Now Eric as promised, here is my pasted response for the day to all these folks:

Of course you people are always right, and on a full stomach too. You Libbys are always right about this gmo issue and the other bad things that we are continually doing in agriculture. My goodness, we are so wicked, mean, and trying to destroy human kind. BTW lady, if you do not want me responding to your whining and naysayer nonsense, all you have to do is get off the blog. It’s simple, like my attitude toward all y’all Libbys. I guess that you also think it is too soon to be sure that all the other crop science work that has been accomplished by our ag science folks, is safe. Again, on a full stomach. From your comments, I’d guess that you also believe, if it didn’t come from you naysayers (and on that full stomach), that it is just not believable. About 3.75 B years from now when H. sapiens no longer exists, I’ll give your attitude some consideration. Until then, you can just kiss my grits (and they’re made from gmo corn). This is the ‘Libby Mentality’. Sad! Need to remove those genes from the ‘world gene pool’.

Jim Williams

I changed my mind, I’m not yet done for the day. These comments apply to all concerned experts:

Andrea, I see that you are a financial analyst in NYC. But I’m curious, when did you become an agricultural scientist? Did you do it online or through the internet? Just asking. Also, I’m wondering if you have missed any meals lately? It’s easy to criticize everything that you eat, on a full stomach. Would you also be against all of our agronomic and agricultural technological advances if they didn’t exist, and a gallon of milk costs $10, potatoes cost $5 a pound, organic iceberg lettuce is already $4 a head, most vegetables and fruit would likely go up 10X (that is, if they were even available), oh, and meats of all kinds: gosh. The impact of these high prices to the consumer? And the consequences to being able to feed the world population? Likely, 75-90% of the current population would not be able to afford to have even a minimal, survivable diet. Even you NYC folks, with all your money, would likely be having to make extreme choices: you know, like paying the mortgage/rent or eating; paying for your kid’s private schooling or eating; paying for all of your fancy cars or eating; a few little economic considerations of that nature.

I’m not quite finished here my dear. I’m also curious as to how all of your extensive genetics research and knowledge is coming along, in your scientific evaluation of the terrible consequences of genome science, that all the other ‘real scientists’ have unraveled and developed, and I might add here, for the betterment of human kind. Again, as I have asked so many times before, why is the use of genetics and genomic science so bad for agriculture, and so good for medicine/medical science? Have you bothered to try to learn (and this is key: to understand) even a tidbit of all the genomic science that is now in the public domain, following dedicated and peer reviewed research/findings? Have you? Do you really think that evolution and development of Eucaryotic organisms (plant or animals) over the last 3.8B years, has happened by chance. Oh, I want to be this genus and species, so I’ll start my own kind. Good grief, get real! Give me a break Andrea: tend to your financial analyst job and leave the agricultural and genomics science to the experts in the fields. Regards to NYC!!!! LOL!